Ablaze
by Windfall39
Summary: Robin was a mysterious stranger with a gift for tactics. Found sleeping in a field by the Shepherds, she eventually becomes their Master Tactician and leads them across many battles that will shape the future. But this time, she has in her arsenal something more than just her strategic mind. Something that can and will always tip the scales in her favor. AU. Default-Female!Robin.


**New Beginnings**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fire Emblem.**

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><p>"Chrom, we have to do something."<p>

"What do you propose we do?"

"I... I dunno... Hey, stop poking her, Naruto!"

"I'm not poking her, Liz. I'm checking to see if she's still alive, because I'm pretty sure we're called the Shepherds, not the Funeral Parlor."

Eyes slowly cracked open by minute fractions, letting the natural light of the midday sun filter in and reveal to their owner just where exactly she was and who these people hovering over her were, which was inevitably the first sight she would come into upon realizing she was lying down. Judging from the amount of different voices she heard, there were at least three of them: 2 boys and a girl.

Directly in front of her was the girl, likely in her mid-teens, with golden blonde hair tied into two messy pigtails with a white and yellow headdress and a pair of eyes that seemed to be a mix of hazel and green. She wore a yellow dress with white accents, a dark-brown corset and a frilly, white apron. Under her dress was a metal crinoline that had a few spikes on the edges, white stockings with yellow lines and dark-brown leather boots that reached mid-calf.

To the girl's right was a man only a bit older than the rest, with dark-blue hair and matching eyes. He wore what was basically a black and gold, asymmetrical jumpsuit. The right arm being bare to showcase some kind of birthmark on his toned shoulder. While the opposite shoulder had a full sleeve and a large, ornate, silver pauldron. He had two intersecting, white belts on his torso, fastening a tattered white cape on his back. While both feet was covered with gray short boots, his left leg was covered with a gray pant leg to keep up his asymmetrical look. Finally, he wore a pair of gray gloves on his hands, likely to get a better grip on the peculiar sword strapped to the last white belt on his waist.

"Well those pretty brown eyes answered that question. Glad to see you're okay miss, it would have been a pain to order a casket if you were otherwise." The last person, the one to the left of the girl, was a smiling young man that was very likely older than the blonde girl yet younger than the bluenette, but not by much. He was also blonde, but the shade was a lot more bright compared to the girl's, almost sun-like, which wasn't a bad analogy considering his hair was arranged in a messy array of spikes that pointed in random directions. His blue eyes shared a similar trait, being a few shades lighter compared to the blue haired boy's, almost the same shade as the sky behind their faces currently hovering over her. But the most distinguishable feature about him was a trio of lines that marred both his cheeks, making a total of six 'whiskers'.

He was dressed a bit differently from the rest, having a bit of an... Oriental flair? Yes, the girl thought that word fitted well for the way the whiskered blonde was dressed. He wore a dark-orange shirt that had a black ring on the stomach under a sleeveless, black kimono top that was loosely worn before it closed at his waist, where a dark-red sash tied from the front locked it in place. Over that was a short-sleeved, mid-thigh length, dark-red overcoat with a high collar that had three, black number-nine shapes on each side, two black armor plates on top of the coat's shoulders and a black flame pattern on the hem. On both his arms were a pair of black elbow bands and on his right hand, which was covered with a black full glove was the glove for his left hand. Finally, he wore black pants that was exactly measured to stop at his ankles, letting his black combat boots with dark-silver shoelace holes peek out from under them.

"Ignore that idiot, sometimes he just says whatever comes to mind without thinking about it." The blonde girl cut in, who the person waking up could only assume was the one named 'Liz'. "You okay?"

"There are better places to sleep than on the ground, y'know?" The blue-haired boy joked, offering his hand to help her. "Here, take my hand. I'll help you up."

"You really love that line, don't you Chrom? You said the same thing when you found me like this as well." The blonde male commented as he slipped on his black glove back to his bare hand, obviously having removed it earlier when he was searching for her pulse, before turning his attention to the person on the ground. "Don't worry, miss. Since you're a girl, I doubt Chrom would elbow you in the gut like he did for me."

"Your own fault for trying to 'teach us a lesson', Naruto."

"Yeah, and by the looks of things, that lesson didn't stick." Naruto retorted in a fake disappointed tone, making Chrom look a bit sheepish. Not wanting to pass up on the show of gratitude, the person on the ground reached out for Chrom's hand, noticing a strange mark on the back of her own. "Or maybe... it's not sticking 'this' time, since it's a pretty girl you're helping out. Oh, I'm so proud of your brother, Liz. He's finally becoming a man!" He added in a dramatic fashion, yet was obviously jesting.

"It's about time, too. I was starting to worry if I'll ever become an Aunt."

"You two do realize that I'm still here?" Chrom called out, only for the two blondes to say they know as they followed it up with a quick chuckle at his expense. With a sigh, Chrom turned his attention to the stranger as he muttered, "Honestly, you two have so much in common it makes me wonder why I'm not the one who's an Uncle... Anyways, are you all right?"

"Chrom!" Both blondes shouted, indignant and embarrassed. While Liz had a more noticeable blush compared to the mild one Naruto sported, both had their eyes drift to the corners where the other was before turning away to regain their composure. And though Chrom seemed to have ignored their outburst, an astute eye would be able to catch the small smirk that played on the corner of his lips for getting one over the two blondes.

"Y-Yes. Thank you, Chrom." The young woman sleeping on the ground answered. She was roughly the same age as Naruto, with snow-white hair tied into two pigtails and as stated by the whiskered blonde earlier, had chocolate brown eyes. She wore a gray undershirt with a black trim under a gold vest with a high collar, which in turn was under a large, hooded, black cloak that had purple and gold accents, a dark-purple inside and a gold band to keep it slightly closed. On her waist was a dark-brown waistband that had two brown leather belts with gold buckles and a black skirt that had gold lines for design. Despite the skirt, she still wore baggy, gray pants under it that had a black line and several black dots going down the middle of each leg as they were tucked into her dark-brown leather boots.

Now that she was standing up, the woman was now able to realize exactly where she was and that there was actually one other person with the three that was remaining quiet throughout all of this. Firstly, they were in the middle of what seemed to be a grassy field, with several trees strewn about in random places, as well as a road leading to a town far off into the distance. Next was the other person, who was a man likely older than Chrom that had matching brown hair and eyes and wore a large, full set of light-blue armor, minus the helmet, that had antler designs on the shoulder plates. He was stoically watching the events unfold, but had a noticeable cautious glint in his eye and had his guard ready to defend either of the three who were close to the girl.

"Ah, so you know who I am?"

"No, actually. I... It's strange... Your name, it just...came to me." Chrom raised a curious eyebrow at that and asked if the woman could tell them her name instead or what she was doing sleeping here in a random field. "My name is... Hmm..."

"You forgot your own name?" Naruto asked, with the woman shaking her head as she asked where exactly she was. "Looks like finding amnesiacs is your specialty, Chrom."

"This is different from when we found you, Naruto. You only had parts of your memory gone, while she seems to have lost all of it if she can't even remember her own name." Chrom whispered to his blonde friend.

"Amnesia? I call it a load of Pegasus dung." The heavily-armored man piped in, walking forward and keeping his wary eyes on the amnesiac woman. "We're to believe you remember milord's name, but not your own?

"B-But it's the truth!" She defended, voice raising as Naruto quickly got in-between them and placed an arm on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Easy. Ol' Fred here is just looking out for us and being cautious as always. I mean, this isn't the first time we got duped by someone we just met." The whiskered blonde said with a calming smile, that did well in serving its purpose of calming the amnesiac girl, who looked a bit apologetic for raising her voice. "I say we take her with us. At least, 'til we sort out that she's not an enemy of Ylisse."

"I agree. And it simply would not sit well with me if we left her here, alone and confused. What sort of Shepherds would we be then?" Chrom nodded in agreement with Naruto's idea, having already thought about doing so even if the blonde hadn't pitched it in. "Is that alright with you, Frederick?"

"Of course, though I must emphasize caution still, milord. It would simply not do to let a wolf into our flock." Frederick said, ever wary of the stranger as he moved towards the road where a steed was waiting patiently, yet was not ridden by the knight.

"Right then, let's head to that nearby town and sort things out there." Chrom ordered, as he and Liz followed Frederick who waited patiently for them by his horse.

"Don't worry. We'll just ask a few questions to see if we can jog your memory, after that you'll be free to go wherever you want... just not the palace vaults of course~!" Naruto added, patting her shoulder as he ran to catch up with his friends. Despite finding the blonde male's eccentricity a bit...odd, the girl simply shook her head with a small smile as she followed along. Locking his hands behind his head, Naruto walked a few feet behind Chrom and the other two as they made their way to town at a casual pace. "So, remember anything in the span of me leaving you in the dust to now? Like your name by any chance?" He asked to the amnesiac girl, who walked alongside him and followed his pace.

"Nothing yet. Why do you ask?"

"Because it'd be a pain to keep calling you 'Miss', 'Girl' or whatever else you can think of. I feel names are very important, 'cuz they're kinda like a gift our parents give us the day we're born." Naruto answered, not taking his eyes away from watching the familiar scenery of the Ylissean countryside that he has already seen multiple times. "Of course, that's just my personal feelings on the matter. I can't say that I speak for everybody, since everybody grows up in different ways."

"I didn't expect something that wise coming from you of all people." Naruto simply chuckled in agreement to the girl's statement, saying that he got comments like that a lot. "So, what were you people doing out here in the middle of nowhere, anyway? Or do you just scour the lands looking for bodies in the fields?"

"Gods, I hope it never comes to that..." Naruto said, more to himself rather than as an answer to the girl's question. "We were actually headed to a small village to the Southeast, a little birdie told us that some bandits were lurking about and scouting the place for an upcoming pillaging. I told Chrom that he could just send me to deal with it alone, but he always insists on coming with... sometimes even with the rest of the Shepherds..."

"Shepherds? You tend sheep? ...In full armor?"

"Haha... It's a dangerous job. High mortality rate since we tend to fall asleep amidst all that wool and get trampled to death when it's time to move the flock." Naruto jested, playing along with the girl's quip. Said girl began pouting a bit, feeling miffed that her witty remark backfired so easily.

"So you four are knights then?"

"Militia to be exact. With the uneasy tensions between Ylisse and Plegia, the knights have been running ragged with Border and Capital patrol. Unfortunately, this gives bandits the opportunity to do what they do best. Chrom formed this group to deal with them, but since we're more shorthanded than the regular army... well, let's just say we have to manage who goes where."

"Then aren't you being a little too overconfident? I mean, I understand that numbers don't win a battle. But there is strength in them too, y'know?"

"Well, if you choose to stick around with us after we get you sorted out, then you'll be able to see for yourself just how easy it would be for me to take down a bunch of mediocre bandits."

"I'm probably just imagining this, but you saying that made me think you want me to stick around even after you figure out what to do with me."

"Meh, why not? You're certainly easy on the eyes, and what kind of man would I be if I complained about that?" Naruto said offhandedly, his gaze not tearing away from the scenery and thus, missing how the white-haired girl sported a mild blush at his compliment. "Besides, I like broadening my horizons and making friends with all sorts of people. And the Shepherds are right at home when it comes to being... colorful. I'm sure you'll have no trouble fitting in if you do decide to sign up. And hey, if you don't know how to fight, we could certainly teach you."

"I know my way around a sword. But thanks for the offer." She replied before stopping in her tracks, having finally remembered even something as small as that. Not wanting to leave her behind, Naruto paused in his walking and waited for her a few paces ahead, the corner of his lip going up slightly, silently happy that the girl was able to regain a bit about herself. He remembered how he was in a near-similar state when Chrom and Liz first found him washed up on a beach when they were younger, and went through the same motions as the girl when he got some of his own memories back. "How did you do that?" She turned to him curiously, yet not hiding how happy she was at her small success.

"I didn't do a thing. The quick and easy solution to amnesia is just talk about random stuff until something slips out. Not sure-fire, but it's close enough."

"Was it the same for you?"

"Oh? It seems like the little birdies aren't the only ones with a knack for eavesdropping." Feeling a bit sheepish for her slip-up, the girl muttered out a quick apology that Naruto just waved off. "Don't worry about it. We were in pretty close proximity with each other, so whispers wouldn't have worked anyway. But to answer your question, yes. I got mine back almost the same way, the only difference with yours though is that only part of it was missing. Some still are, to be quite honest."

"So is that why you like 'broadening your horizons'?"

"Partially. I mean, I do like making new friends. Getting some memories back is more of a bonus, really." Naruto then dropped his arms from his head and finally turned to face the girl, taking off his right glove and offering said hand for her to shake. "And hey, even if you don't join the Shepherds, I'll visit you from time to time to help you out with your memories. Sound good?"

The white-haired girl looked to his hand, then to his face and back more than a few times than he would bother to count, making Naruto gain a nervous sweat before he heard the girl softly giggle into her sleeved hand. "My, you certainly move fast... We don't even know each others names yet and you're already asking for visitation rights?" She teased playfully, gaining a small smile as she watched the blonde fidget a bit.

"Ah! Ehehe~... I guess I did kinda forget... Sorry. My name is Naruto, the Greatest Ninja in all Ylisse." The whiskered blonde introduced, using his other hand to rub the back of his head with a cheeky grin on his face. An expression the girl mirrored with her own happy smile as she took his still-offered hand and gave it a surprisingly firm shake.

"Nice to meet you, Naruto. My name is Robin, no fancy overblown title yet... Oh!" She paused as both she and Naruto realized just exactly what happened between them. Though Naruto had a sweatdrop, thanks to the now-named Robin joking about his title, even if it was a bit self-proclaimed since nobody else in the continent likely even knew what a 'Ninja' was. "That's the second memory you helped me regain..."

"Uh, I wasn't really trying yet, but whatever... Nice to meet you too, Robin!" The blonde replied happily. The two then continued staring at each other, not realizing that their hands were still clasped with the others own. Thankfully, a brief cough managed to break them out of their trance with both amnesiacs breaking away with an embarrassed face. Of course, there was also a different reason that cough would be something they would NOT be thankful for. Naruto then turned his head a bit to finally address the third party, "Um, hey..."

Said third party obviously consisted of Chrom, Liz and/or Frederick. But what forced Naruto, and probably Robin as well, to inwardly groan was the sight of Chrom sporting a knowing smirk, Liz giggling to herself like a little schoolgirl and Frederick shaking his head tiredly, yet having the same expression as Chrom. "I see you two are getting along..." The bluenette commented, smirk still in place.

"Yup. You know me, Chrom. Every stranger is a potential friend. But enough about me, go on and say hello to Robin!"

"Robin? Is that foreign?"

"Yes. I just remembered that a few moments ago... One mystery solved, I suppose. Though I'm not certain if it's completely foreign in nature, since I have no idea where we are." Robin added with Chrom nodding appreciatively at her introduction.

"I see. Then let's have proper introductions first. My name is Chrom, but then you already knew that." Chrom began before turning to Liz and introducing her. "The delicate one here is my little sister, Lissa."

"Hey! I am NOT delicate!" Lissa called out, a bit offended at the notion. "Ignore my idiot brother, please. He can be 'a bit' thick sometimes. And you can call me 'Liz' for short, I won't mind." Lissa added, having a noticeable sarcastic tone when she said the 'bit' part.

"And the stern big guy here is Frederick. Or best known with his most prominent accolade, Frederick the Wary." Naruto called from next to Frederick as he tried... and failed to sling his arm across the heavily-armored man's shoulder thanks to the armor, earning a few chuckles from both girls.

"A title I shall wear with pride. Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution." Frederick said, puffing his chest out with pride as he continued, "I have every wish to trust you, stranger, but my station mandates otherwise."

"I understand, sir. I would do no less myself." Robin nodded, honestly understanding Frederick's wariness. "Sooo... where are we exactly?"

"This land is known as the Halidom of Ylisse, on the continent of the same name. Our ruler known as the Exalt, is called Emmeryn." Chrom answered as he pointed off to a far-off tower in the distance. "Over there is Ylisstol which is the Halidom's Capital City. Though that tower is just a sort of barracks for our army's Mages."

"As Naruto told you earlier..." Frederick continued, sending Naruto a light glare that reminded the blonde that he blabbed about the Halidom's military situation to a potential spy. At least the whiskered teen had the decency to look embarrassed for his slip-up. "The Halidom has grown a disdain for fighting, a sentiment shared by the Exalt, who wishes for peace between both nations and neighbors. Hence the reason why our army is quite small in number."

"And because most of them are being allocated to watching the Border and the Capital, internal threats like brigands and bandits are on the rise, correct?" Robin recalled, with Frederick nodding for confirmation.

"And that's where we come in, the Shepherds to-"

"Chrom, look! The town!" Lissa interrupted, as the party turned their attention towards the town they were heading to, where a pillar of black smoke was quickly rising from.

"Black smoke... still burning. Damn it, those blasted brigands, no doubt! Naruto!" Chrom called.

"On it!" The whiskered blonde replied, his tone shifting into a serious one that surprised Robin at the sudden change of his mood. The blonde placed his bare hand on the ground for a few minutes, with the others waiting for something. While this was going on, Robin noticed a black sun-shaped mark on the back of Naruto's hand, a hollow circle with equidistant, kite-shaped 'rays', the cardinal ones in particular being longer. "Around 10 of them, maybe more since I can't get a full reading with the victims' emotions interfering."

"All right! Let's hurry!"

"What about her?" Frederick asked.

"Unless she's on fire as well, it can wait!"

"Aptly put, milord." Frederick said as he hoisted an impatient and distressed Lissa on his horse before getting on himself and following after Chrom, who was already sprinting ahead to the town.

"Sorry, but duty calls. We'll come back for you after we deal with this, I promise. So see ya later, Robin!" Naruto apologized, slipping on his glove back and getting down in the starting stance used for competitive running before he dashed off to the town's direction, his shape nothing more than a blur. Robin just stood there for a few seconds, looking at their disappearing forms before tilting her head down thinking about what she should do. Taking one more look at the town, Robin came to a decision with a nod of her head as she finally took off.

In the direction of the town.

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><p>"Bwahahaha! Get to it, lads! Grab anythin' shiny and put the rest to the torch!" A thuggish-man who was likely the bandit leader ordered out to his equally thuggish-looking men. Behind him was a group of tied-up townsfolk cowering in fear. "We gots an example to set for those Ylissean types! Ain't that right, lass?" He said, leering at the women who were at the forefront.<p>

"S-Stay away from me! Please! Someone! HELP!"

Arriving at the town square as the villagers continued calling for help, Chrom headed over to the corner of a building where Naruto was already discretely scouting out the battlefield. "What's the situation, Naruto?" Chrom asked, unsurprised that Naruto was already there ahead of them. Behind him, Lissa got off of Frederick's horse and readied a staff with a clear, round crystal at the tip. Frederick himself staying on his steed with an expensive-looking lance at the ready.

"The villagers are being rounded up in the church, judging by the stacks of wood that the goons are gathering, they're likely planning on torching the place with them in it."

"Chrom, we have to stop them!"

"Don't worry. After today, these bandits won't be bothering anyone ever again." Chrom reassured his sister as he unsheathed the peculiar sword at his waist, a straight sword with two edges and a teardrop shaped hole near the hilt. Naruto closed his eyes for half a minute, an action the other three were not unfamiliar with, but something a certain newcomer found very odd. An oddness that was preceded by something even stranger when two black chunks flew out of Naruto's shoulder guards and into his gloved hands. The chunks' form shifted into a pair of feature-less, black short-staffs that Naruto spun in his hands for dramatic effect.

The four got ready for their attack on the bandits, or in Lissa's case using her staff to cast a healing spell if anyone got injured. "Wait!" But a sudden intrusion of a voice they were acquainted with not too long ago, stopped them in their tracks as they turned to her direction. Sure enough, Robin came running down the street behind them with a sword in hand.

"Robin! You followed us! Why?"

"I... I'm not certain myself. But I'm armed, and I know my way around a fight, if you'll have me." Robin answered as she stopped just a few paces near them to catch her breath. Looking towards the two who were most experienced in combat, Chrom received nods from both Frederick and Naruto before giving his own appreciative one to Robin.

"Of course, strength in numbers. Just stay close!"

"Right!" Robin nodded, moving closer to Naruto who was the farthest from the group.

"Remember, Robin, we face practiced thieves and murderers. They will grant us no quarter, it's kill or be killed." Frederick advised sternly from his perch on his steed. Despite his wariness of the girl, there was no point in giving her delusions that she could just disarm or knock the bandits out. And it was best that she steeled her nerves now, lest she freeze up and be killed because of her own foolishness and his mistake for not warning her of such. He gave an aside glance to his equally experienced peer and saw that the whiskered blonde had that focused look in his eyes, making Frederick inwardly nod at his adaptability. "One more word of advice. Despite our strength, I would advise against relying on me or Naruto to carry you through battles. If only because it would not bode well for your growth. Training can only get you so far."

"I'll keep it in mind."

"All right, Shepherds... Let's move out!" Chrom said as he charged ahead and engaged a bandit wielding an axe. A few meters away from the blue-haired Shepherd leader, Frederick was busy keeping two swordsmen at bay, while on the opposite side, Naruto was... practically toying with a mage who kept throwing and missing with his Wind spells. As if the feats he has shown so far wasn't odd enough, he was doing this as he was running across the wall, gravity seemingly taking a break from its duties.

"We'll see who's delicate!" Robin heard Lissa say right next to her. "I may not be able to attack like Chrom, but when you get injured? I'll be the one stitching your bones back together, care of my trusty staff! So don't be afraid to ask for my help, okay Robin?"

"Yeah..." Robin said as she took a look at the ensuing fight. Chrom was easily able to take down his first opponent, and took down the mage that Naruto was apparently distracting for the bluenette. Frederick obviously had no trouble either, as one of the swordsmen was nothing more than a corpse, while the other one gained a bit of smarts and began fleeing with his tail between his legs. Under the assumption that the straggler was going to call for reinforcements from their main group, Robin pulled out a yellow-covered book from her coat and as if in a trance, opened it, read the contents and shot out a ball of yellow electricity from her hand that homed-in on the fleeing swordsman, hitting him from the back and knocking him off the bridge and into the river.

"Wait, is that a tome? …You know magic?" Chrom asked surprised.

"I... I believe so? I suppose I should check."

"'You believe so'?" Right... Perhaps I'll keep a few paces behind you for the time being."

"No, I can control it. I'm sure. Now, how did this work again..." Robin reassured, not noticing her shadow becoming bigger. It was a bandit hiding on the second floor of the house behind Robin, about to pounce on her with his axe, thinking she was distracted. But thanks to the bandit's idiocy in screaming out 'DIE!', Robin was able to see him coming and began casting her spell.

"Heads up!" Naruto said, timely intervening by blocking the strike in mid-air and kicking the offending bandit off to the ground. Robin followed up by shooting another ball of electricity from her hand before he could get up, frying the assailant to an electrified crisp.

"Is anyone hurt?" Chrom asked as the Shepherds regrouped, Lissa already healing a cut on his arm from a bandit's lucky shot. "We're coming up on the church, where their leader and the rest of them are likely laying in wait. As such, it would be foolish to leave a wound unattended. Despite their mediocrity, a bandit leader is a lot more formidable than his henchmen. They have to be, to be able to keep their motley crew in line."

"Just a scratch on my armor, milord."

"Do you even have to ask?" Naruto's smirking rhetorical question was simply awarded with a roll of Chrom's eyes at his confidence. Not that the bluenette could call him out on it, since the whiskered blonde definitely had the skills to back it up. "Robin's doing pretty well for someone who only remembered how to fight a few minutes ago."

"Indeed. You've lent us your strength, and that makes you a friend. Having an ally by my side gives me courage." Chrom said, patting the thoughtful Robin on the shoulder for her good work.

"Thank you, but…I think there's more to it than that." Robin's statement raised more than a few curious eyebrows as she continued, "Remember when Naruto blocked that attack for me before I could finish casting my spell? I think there's a tactical advantage to fighting side by side or working in pairs. It improves strength, defense, morale… Yes, yes. I'm sure of it!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Hmm… It's strange. Here on the battlefield, I can… Well, I can 'see' things. The enemy's strength, their weaponry, the flow of battle… I must have studied this somewhere."

"So, you're saying you can size up the enemy at a glance?"

"Yes, it would seem so. And perhaps more, if I apply myself…" Looking to his companions, Chrom received nods from all of them, most having already figured out what he was thinking.

"Well, whatever is goin' on in that pretty lil' head of yours can wait! Let's get rid of these bandits first, so we can talk about it over some food! I'm getting pretty hungry right now!" Naruto said, jumping to the rooftops to circle around while the others followed along from the street.

"Don't think too much about the stuff you've seen Naruto pull off today." Chrom told Robin as they made their way to the church, noticing the evident curiosity and fascination the white-haired girl had on her face every time Naruto did something that was normally impossible to regular humans. "Even Miriel, one of our own and the smartest person I know can't completely solve him. He always has been a bit of an enigma and it certainly doesn't help that he has a penchant for mystery either."

"Don't worry, though. He has saved mine and Chrom's life more than a few times, so you can definitely trust him." Lissa added as they reached the bridge, her older brother nodding in agreement. The ground-based group stopped in front of the church courtyard where the bandit leader and his remaining cronies waited for them. Chrom and Frederick took the fore, while Lissa stepped to the back and joined Robin, who had her tome at the ready. "Naruto's probably rescuing the villagers, so it's up to us to clear the rest of these bandits out." Lissa whispered to Robin.

"Well, well... Lookie here, boys! More sheep to the slaughter!" The bandit leader taunted, not at all threatened by the Shepherds' presence. "Kill the men and capture the women! Gotta uphol' the Code and all that! Bwahahaha!" Upon his orders, the band of thieves charged in as Chrom faced them head on with Frederick supporting him and watching his back.

"Chrom, take down the axe wielders first! Sir Frederick, keep the swordsmen at bay!" Robin ordered out. Trusting the amnesiac with a strange gift for tactics, the two followed her orders to the letter. This left Robin to deal with the mage, as the bandit leader seemed to be sitting on his laurels, confident that he and his goons would win. Sadly for him, his mage was quickly and literally cut down when Robin used her sword to slash the mage while he was preoccupied with combating her own Thunder spell. The white-haired girl wasted no time and assisted Frederick in taking down the sword wielders, heeding the knight's advice to not let him carry them through the battle.

While this went on, Chrom confronted the bandit leader after effortlessly taking down the two axe wielders, pointing his sword challengingly as the thug stepped forward. "Now... You'll face me!" Chrom shouted as he charged in.

"Don't get cocky, pretty boy!" The bandit leader cried out as he held his axe horizontally and tossed it like a boomerang at Chrom,who dodged it by a hair's breadth as he continued his charge. While most would assume it was stupid to throw a melee weapon, the bandit leader showcased his experience as his weapon, apparently expertly tossed, rounded back to his hands in time to block Chrom's first strike. "Hehehe... Here sheepy sheepy... come to the slaughter!" The thug taunted as he and Chrom exchanged blows. The bluenette was easily able to defend against the man's heavier strikes, dealing his own quick cuts that began hindering the thug in more ways than one.

Sword and axe locking once more, Chrom took initiative by mustering all his strength as he pushed the man back, leaving him open. The blue haired Shepherd leader immediately utilized that opening to kick the bandit leader square in the chest, slamming him into the sturdy doors of the church. Chrom rushed over to finish the job, but the sly bandit quickly recovered and grabbed one of the nearby tied-up villagers, the blade of his axe poised on her neck. Chrom understandably stopped in his tracks, not wanting any more harm to come to the people. "Coward! How dare you!"

"Ha! Fool of a boy! You fight with a scoundrel, yet you don't expect something like this? Bwahahaha!" The bandit leader taunted, if a bit nervously due to watching the last of his men be cut down behind Chrom. "Now, here's how it's gonna go down, handsome. You let me go, and the lass here won't be smiling from her throat." Seeing Chrom unfazed by the threat and the rest of the Shepherds surrounding him, the bandit leader drew the axe blade closer to the woman's neck, enough to draw a trickle of blood.

But it seemed that was the wrong move, as the bandit leader suddenly found himself coughing up a globule of his own. Chrom having stabbed the thug through his own hostage with a smirk on the bluenette's face. Though Lissa and Frederick looked indifferent, Robin was shocked at what Chrom had done, only for the Shepherd leader's next words to confound her. "Good work... Naruto." It was then that Robin noticed that the villager taken hostage was not sporting a horrified look, but a calm smirk exactly mirroring Chrom's before she erupted into a puff of smoke that dissipated into thin air. The church door's suddenly burst open with the rest of the townsfolk filtered out, cheering with relief that the bandits were no more.

"Jeez... sometimes the Shadow Clones' memory relay isn't all it's cracked up to be. I have too many memories of being stabbed..." Naruto sighed as he exited the church last, one hand rubbing the back of his head. "Particularly by that sword of yours, Chrom. Okay... maybe I could have worded that a little better..."

"What's going on?" Robin asked, her curiosity and confusion evident in her tone and face.

"Oh, that's nothing. Just Naruto's usual methods for hostage situations." Lissa answered, though Robin was still understandably confused, since she was not knowledgeable in their 'usual' tactics. The blonde little sister then turned to Robin with stars in her eyes as she continued, "But holy wow, Robin! You were incredible! Swords, sorcery, and tactics! Is there anything you can't do?" The white-haired girl inwardly thought about saying that she couldn't do... whatever it was Naruto did, but refrained from doing so due to how she might come off as a jerk.

"She's certainly no helpless victim, that's for sure." Chrom said, flicking the bandit leader's blood off his sword before he sheathed it back in its scabbard on his waist.

"Yup. I watched her take down that last Mage and the other Myrmidon. You really are quite capable for an amnesiac." Naruto complimented with a wink and a thumbs-up.

"Indeed. Perhaps you might even be capable of an explanation for how you came here?" Frederick inquired, disembarking from his steed and standing next to Chrom.

"I understand your skepticism, Sir Frederick. And I cannot explain why only some knowledge has returned to me. But please, believe me. I have shared all that I know."

"You fought to save Ylissean lives. My heart says that's enough." Chrom said with a smile. Frederick then asked what Chrom's mind thought about the matter, the Great Knight was obviously and understandably still wary despite the amnesiac tactician's honest efforts at answering his questions. "Frederick, the Shepherds could use someone with Robin's talents. We've brigands and unruly neighbors, all looking to bloody our soil. Would you really have us lose such an able tactician?" Chrom then cast an aside glance to Naruto, who was busy looking at the clouds, likely trying to find an animal-shaped one to help him relax after a good day of work. "Besides, it's not the first time we found an amnesiac who fought valiantly for the sake of people they didn't even know."

"_Are we really that similar? Hmm..."_ Robin thought as she followed his gaze to a calmly smiling Naruto still looking at the clouds, Chrom's earlier words of his mysteriousness echoing true.

"But I believe her story, odd as it may be." Chrom said, returning the conversation back on the matter at hand. "So, what do you say, Robin? Would you like to join us? Join the Shepherds?"

"I would be honored." Robin accepted wholeheartedly, an enthusiastic grin forming on her face. Feeling that there was a better chance at regaining her memory if she stayed with them. Of course, she also felt indebted to them for finding her in that field, but that wasn't the biggest motivator for her accepting the proposition.

"Awesome! New member means new friend. Dibs on being Robin's first bestie!"

"Hey! No fair, Naruto! Girls have priority!" Lissa called out. Naruto looked to her with puffed cheeks before childishly countering that because he and Robin had similar backgrounds, they get higher priority due to possibly giving more story in contrast to girl talk. "I don't know what you're talking about, but there's no way that automatically gets higher priority!" Lissa defended as the conversation turned into a childish argument that neither of the other three bothered listening to.

"Did you notice, milord? The brigands spoke with a Plegian accent." Frederick inquired to Chrom, who gave a nod in agreement at the observation.

"I've heard Naruto say that before, but what's Plegian?" Robin asked, tearing the attention of the two blondes away from their childish argument that they tried settling with Rock-Paper-Scissors for who knows how many rounds already.

"Plegia is Ylisse's westerly neighbor." Chrom began neutrally, but anyone who has known him long enough knew that he had quite a bit of distaste for said neighboring country. "They send small bands into our territory, hoping to instigate a war."

"And it's the poor townsfolk who suffer! Totally innocent and totally helpless..."

"They do have us, milady. Shepherds to protect the sheep. Do not be swept up in your anger. It will cloud your judgment."

"I know, I know..." Lissa responded, following Frederick's advice and visibly calming down. "Don't worry, I'll get used to all this..."

"'Course, we ain't got any solid proof to call them out on it, though. Not to mention that their bastard of a King would just deny the accusation anyway..." Naruto added, also but truly neutral about the matter. If anything, he was a bit... sad for some reason that not even Chrom or Lissa could accurately guess despite being his oldest friends.

"Excuse us!" One of the townsfolk said as he and the rest of the townspeople gathered around the Shepherds. "Milord, please! You must stay the night! We are simple folk of simple means, but we would gladly toast you valor with a feast!"

"A most generous offer, sir, and no doubt your hospitality would be grand..." Frederick responded with a humble smile. Naruto was mumbling something about Ramen not being common in Ylisse and settling with something made out of beef as Frederick continued, "But I'm afraid we must hurry back to Ylisstol."

"Dark meat only for me, medium well, and no salt in the soup. I simply..." Lissa began listing her food preferences before she realized what Frederick had just done. "Wait, what?! We're not staying? But, Frederick, it's nearly dark!" Sure enough, the sun was already well on its way down the horizon, lightly tinting the world orange. The sky was also a bit abundant with clouds now as well, when it was perfectly clear and sunny earlier.

Frederick turned to Lissa, smile still in place as he responded, "When night falls, we'll camp. Eat off the land, make our bed of twigs and the like... I believed you mentioned you would be 'getting used to this'?" Not really minding that either way, Chrom and Naruto just shrugged while Lissa and surprisingly enough, Robin looked upset.

"Frederick, sometimes I hate you..." Lissa grumbled with a pout which didn't faze Frederick, who kept smiling and was obviously having fun. Robin commented that Frederick was quite the stern lieutenant but Lissa seemed like stern wasn't enough to describe him, "Yeah, well, 'stern' is one word for it. I can think of a few others!"

"Frederick only smiles when he's about to bring down the axe..." Chrom joked with a straight face.

"Or the sword..." Lissa continued.

"Or the lance! Even if he didn't bring the other two..." Naruto finished, mumbling his observations.

"Duly noted." Robin nodded, taking the jests at the knight's expense oddly seriously.

Frederick cleared his throat, obviously miffed as he asked, "You do realize I am still present?" Chrom just answered that they do as the four of them shared a laugh, much to Frederick's annoyance. "Milord remains as amusing as ever. Now then, shall we be going?"

"All right, all right." Chrom said, letting up on teasing Frederick. "Let's move out, Shepherds. The capital isn't far from here." With a nod from his subordinates, Chrom and his Shepherds moved out after bidding the saved villagers farewell. Getting back on the road leading to Ylisstol.

A road that was unknowingly the site where everything will begin to change.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes (may have spoilers from the game)<strong>

Now, I'm not some longtime Fire Emblem fan, Awakening being my first game and only having picked it up during early September. And while I do like it a lot, I don't think I'll be playing the older games due to time issues. Thus, my knowledge is limited to what can be gained from Awakening and the wiki.

Naruto's backstory of how he came to Ylisse/FE world will be revealed via subplots and supports (so please endure the rehashing for a bit). Obviously, he can still use his chakra (the extent of which remains to be seen), but he won't be decimating the enemy army on his own because as lampshaded by Frederick earlier, Naruto is like a second crutch character but grows normally like the rest to fit his insane ability to learn.

If we were to apply game mechanics to explain better, Naruto is in a class that can go up to Lv.30(the usual Max Level is 20) like Manaketes and uses a gemstone as a weapon that also boosts his stats when equipped (just an example). He'll mostly be back-up during the early chapters, while later ones will shift him more to the front-lines as the fights get tougher.

In terms of Supports, Naruto will borrow Male!Robin's for the most part, but tweaked to better fit his personality since he's not the Tactician nor a strategy nut. But he will also have some original ones in place of the ones that are exactly similar to Female!Robin's(who would also have a unique support with him).

Now for the tricky part: pairings. All I'll say is that I won't make any promises. Trying to please everyone is an exercise in futility. Thus, there won't be any side pairings, not even ChromxWhoever. Now, I'm not doing this because I hate the Male Characters(quite the contrary. I liked the whole cast despite their archetypical-ness) or because all the First Gen ladies will be shipped with Naruto to make him the common father (though I'd love to see a fic that can successfully pull that off :p).

This is simply to limit, if not outright avoid, people from trying to shove their FE:A OTPs or 'optimizations' down my throat and into my story no matter how much proof they bring for justification. I know that Chrom's is a mandatory event for Lucina to come into existence, but I already have something in mind for that.

And since the other Child Characters(barring Female!Morgan) are mostly tied to their mothers, they will still be able to make an appearance and will be using their mother's/official art's hair color. I know I may miss out on some funny/important Father supports, but it's nothing a little tweaking can't fix.

That being said, the only pairing I'll confirm is NarutoxFemale!Robin. And because there's absolutely no way I'm leaving her alone, NarutoxTiki as well. Keep in mind, I'm not going to limit who else can be paired with Naruto (who is practically Male!Robin), but I'm not adding 'everyone' either.

**Roster**

No. 000 Robin

A traveler who remembers nothing prior to being found by the wayside. Chrom realized her tactical genius and enlisted her in the Shepherds, where she is well-liked. The biggest mystery of the group. Born on September 10th (the day I got the game :p).

No. 001 Chrom

The prince of Ylisse and descendant of the Hero-King. While of noble blood, he also leads a militia known as the Shepherds. His strong conviction makes him a fine captain. The most likely to break things. Born on May 27th.

No. 002 Lissa

Chrom's tomboyish little sister and the princess of Ylisse. With nary an ounce of snobbery in her nature, she is among the most likeable and approachable of the Shepherds. The girl most likely to snort. Born on March 6th.

No. 003 Frederick

Chrom's lieutenant, an Ylissean knight who is sincere to a fault. He tends to demand tremendous effort for seemingly trivial things, and prefaces such exercises with a grin. The fondest of starting fires. Born on August 26th.

No. 004 Naruto

A Shepherd that wields a strange power and keeps his origins under lock and key. Though he is fun-loving and easy-going, he can become serious when the situation calls for it. The most likely to talk to himself. Born on October 10th (same as Lon'qu apparently).


End file.
